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True Crime: Streets of
L.A.

Score: 7.8 / 10

Nick
Kang (Wilson) is a bad cop.Or
at least one with a bad attitude.Okay,
he did something bad, got kicked off the police force, then reinstated
to the force in an elite capacity as part of the E.O.D. (Elite
Operations Division) as is the case with most action game protagonists.
(Even more clichéd, he’s interested in finding out what happened to
his father.)Either way,
he’s loose in Los Angeles – and he’s armed.

Like
Grand Theft Auto III, True Crime: Streets of L.A. drops you into a
living, breathing cityscape (this time, L.A.) with definite mission
objectives pushing the story forward but with plenty of distractions in
form of random crimes.True
Crime also includes a light glaze of role-playing, a liberal dollop of
racing, a quart or two of hand-to-hand combat, gunfights, and many
cinema-inspired cutscenes.In
short, it tries to offer something to everyone and, to a certain extent,
it succeeds.

For
the most part True Crime does a good job keeping you firmly rooted in
reality.Exempting its near
lack of traffic, a large section of L.A. has been replicated.The drivable vehicles, handle very much like real world vehicles,
guns have different effectiveness, and the fighting moves are ripped
right out of the best action films (which are all based on reality in
the first place).So when
something crazy happens it tears you out of the game’s reality.True Crime has some weird collision issues that mostly crop up
during the driving portions.For
example, I managed to flip a sports car about 100 feet in the air, then
bounce there a few times, then off a building, then back onto my wheels.No harm done!More
frustrating is getting caught on corners or stuck in walls.Further to yanking you out of reality are a few levels that put
Nick against zombies and, no joke, a dragon.

The
action nods to Dead to Rights, Max Payne, The Getaway and Grand Theft
Auto III, but getting a handle on the controls takes a lot of practice
because every button, trigger, and stick is put to use.The control had me frustrated through the first few missions
because I just couldn’t get it.I’d be tearing down the highway, press the wrong button then
Nick would be rolling on the pavement, which is not the preferred method
for exiting a vehicle.While
the more advanced hand-to-hand moves are introduced gradually –

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by learning them at dojos sprinkled throughout the area – in all
likelihood you’ll still be trying to completely master them at the end
of game.

Mission
variety is good.You’ll
run down criminals, tail suspects, beat the hell out of attackers and
perform random searches on an unsuspecting populace. (Some are not so
unsuspecting -- they'll actively resist Nick.)Nick can frisk anyone on the street.If the friskee has some contraband on their person, points for
Nick.If nothing is found,
no harm done.There is also
a variety of random crimes that Nick can attempt to right.(It wouldn’t be L.A. without lots and lots of crime!)They’re totally optional forays but are fun to get involved
with, particularly because the game is on the short side (according to
some).

In
a stroke of genius, you don’t actually have to successfully complete
most missions.At the end
of each mission you have the option to replay it but you can also
proceed while the story changes a little to accommodate a failure.You want to be successful so Nick can earn more Reward Points
(also earned battling random crime) and Badges, which are used like
currency to upgrade Nick’s driving, shooting and fighting skills.

This
provides a solid reason to be a “good” cop.If you’re a bad cop – shooting civilians for no reason,
jacking everything on wheels, etc. – you don’t earn the badges.In fact, you get badges subtracted from your total.It’s still possible to finish the game as a bad cop, but it’s
a hell of a lot harder because you don’t have the Badges to use to
upgrade Nick’s skills.

Aside
from the some strange collision detection, Luxoflux did a good job in
the presentation department.Not
having spent a whole lot of time cruising L.A. streets I’m informed by
others that the map is filled with familiar L.A. landmarks. (I did
recognize the Convention Center.)Although,
most of the streets look very similar.For the audio side of things, two words: Christopher Walken.In fact, most of the acting is very good.I can use one word to describe the music: horrid.Unless you’re into the whole hip-hop/rap scene, True Crime has
a grating soundtrack.I
like to think I have an open mind when it comes to music.Zither ensembles, digereedoo solos, bagpipes, Gordon Lightfoot,
Finnnish techno, Spice Girls… I’ll listen to practically anything
and get something out of it but True Crimes’ soundtrack?Not for me, thanks.

Rough
edges aside, True Crime: Streets of L.A. is a fairly strong entry into
the action game genre, worthy of at least a rental for action fans.